Disclaimer: I keep putting this here. Is it to atone for missing it with earlier chapters? Who knows? Much as I love them, I don't own the characters of Fairy Tail nor the property as a whole.
Warmth
Loke pulled Natsu to his feet. The dragon slayer hadn't moved from his spot on the ground since the Lion spirit appeared. Loke suspected it wasn't all by choice.
"Loke," Lucy said from behind him. "Are you really all right?"
The Zodiac leader turned and smiled, hoping to dispel his mistress' concern. He reached into his coat pocket and slipped something under her blouse strap; he almost earned himself a Lucy Kick for it.
"Given present company," he said, gesturing to Natsu with his eyes. "It might be prudent to discuss that later, after you've read the note."
Lucy quirked an eyebrow at him, but to his relief, let the matter drop.
"So why exactly is this method of travel illegal?"
The well-dressed spirit stiffened a moment.
"It's a bit," he said, pushing his glasses up his nose. "Complicated."
Lucy motioned for him to elaborate. Loke leaned toward her and whispered into her ear. Once he finished, Lucy turned to him with wide eyes and red cheeks.
"Oh."
Loke nodded. Lucy shook her head.
"As long as it gets us home faster."
The Lion spirit stifled a cough and pretended to stretch. After asking if his mistress was ready, he summoned the magic necessary for the trick. He tried to avoid thinking about what Aquarius might do to him once he returned.
Four and a half minutes later, the Zodiac leader felt thankful that the Water Bearer only gave him a verbal beating.
"If you ever," she said, holding the book of E.N.D. overhead in a threatening manner and wearing a crimson complexion. "Use my constellation like that again," she loomed over him with a petrifying glower. "I will dump you downstream of a Vulcan pack with severe indigestion."
The Lion spirit cringed and bowed.
"Won't happen again," he said.
Aquarius huffed and stepped back. Loke thought that the worst of his day had passed, but Virgo's voice informed him otherwise.
"The Spirit King demands an audience with Leo."
Loke pulled off his glasses, pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned.
Cana stared down at the imp she'd trapped in her card dimension. The little demon scratched and snarled within the pocket dimension. The brunette flipped the card between her fingers.
"What do you think, Master Mavis?"
The spirit of Fairy Tail's founder took the card from Cana and hummed at the little creature. She swung her feet over the floor from her perch on the bar top. Cana propped an elbow on the counter, leaning sideways on her stool.
"It certainly resembles one of Zeref's creations," Mavis said. She tapped the face of the card with her fingertip; the imp tumbled around inside and growled. The first master handed the card back to Cana. "Likely one of his spies."
Cana raised an eyebrow and squinted at the image of the rude critter.
"Seems kind of puny for a demon," she said. The imp whooped and pounded little fists against its prison in apparent outrage at Cana's comment. Mavis shrugged.
"It wouldn't have to be strong," she said. "The small size makes it better suited for acting as his eyes and ears."
Cana murmured agreement and rested her face in her other hand.
"I don't suppose you can tell us anything useful," she said, eying the trapped imp. "Like where your master disappeared to?"
The card mage received another snarl for her question. She sighed.
"That's what I thought," she said, standing up from her seat. "Now then, what to do with you."
Cana caught sight of Laki across the guildhall and smiled at the little demon. Her captive flinched at her expression.
"Laki," she said, waving the wood mage over. She released the imp from her card and presented it to her fellow wizard by its tail. "Would you mind taking care of this for me?"
Laki seemed unsure how to answer. Cana pulled her closer and whispered.
"No one has to know if you want to take him to Fairy Hills and 'experiment'," she said. "You know I won't judge your fun."
Laki took a moment before understanding and sudden eagerness gleamed from behind her glasses. She snatched the imp from Cana and hurried from the guild, her unfortunate victim squealing and squirming the whole way.
"Cana's pretty scary when she's on a dry spell."
The card mage turned a glare onto the table shared by Wakaba and Macao. There weren't many other wizards in the building given the early hour; locating the source of the quip wasn't difficult. She honed her glower in on the older smoke wizard.
"I think she heard you," Macao said, snickering. "Though I'd worry more about Gildarts."
"I mean," Wakaba said, turning in his chair to divert attention away and raising his voice. "Did you find them yet, Warren?"
The telepath wizard groaned.
"No," he said, shouting at the Fairy Tail veteran.
"They disappeared six hours ago! Why would they suddenly turn up now?"
Cana reclaimed her bar stool and ignored the rest of Warren's griping. She glanced down the counter at the unopened bottle of sake her father had brought from the cellar. The crash mage dozed not far from her; he went to sleep after she'd woken up a few hours before. She considered opening the drink.
"Hey," Max said, indicating a group of blips on the Magic Radar with his broom. "Isn't that them? Like, right outside?"
Everyone present hushed. The sudden silence woke Gildarts just as the front doors opened. Lucy and Natsu, the latter holding Happy, walked in. One look at the dragon slayer's state pushed Cana to make her decision; she snatched up the bottle.
Gajeel kept his spot with Lily while the rest of the guild got up to see Salamander and Bunny girl. The pierced wizard munched on some dinnerware and eyed the pink-haired fire mage. He tuned out most of the questions aimed at them; he had a good guess where the bruise on Bunny girl's neck came from. He didn't care how 'time zones' and the 'spirit realm' factored into why they'd disappeared from radar.
"He seems to have come to his senses." Lily commented.
Gajeel narrowed his eyes at Salamander.
Levy had been allowed to recuperate in her dorm room, and Gajeel had recovered for the most part in the half day since he last encountered his fellow dragon slayer. The iron mage couldn't repress all of his suspicion.
"Think so?"
Salamander looked about right; a little broken, but at least he didn't have that damn tail. Gajeel kept his gaze steady as Bunny girl parted the crowd to lead Salamander toward the infirmary.
He opened his mouth to talk to Salamander at a volume only he would hear, but stopped. The vacant look in his eyes visible from under his pink bangs told Gajeel all he wanted to know.
A crash brought his attention back to the front of the building. Gildarts muttered something about going for a walk before leaving through a hole in the wall. The iron dragon slayer chewed on his snack; he understood the desire to break something.
"Happy."
The little Exceed mumbled and rolled over in his cozy nest. Lucy's voice called to him in soft tones again. Something poked him through Natsu's scarf.
"You need to move so Porlyusica can treat you two," she said, ruffling the bundle Happy rested in.
"Don't wanna~," he whined, nuzzling into his foster father's warmth. The celestial spirit mage's hands pushed with more insistence. The magic cat grumbled and squirmed out of Natsu's scarf. He leapt onto Natsu's bare shoulder and came to nestle in his pink locks, curling into a comfortable doze.
Happy kneaded his favorite dragon slayer's hair with his paws. He let his tail hang down next to Natsu's neck. Lucy and Porlyusica exchanged about five words before the medical advisor questioned the teenager's continued presence.
"Happy," Natsu said. The Exceed purred to tell his partner he was listening. He could feel the shift as Natsu looked around the room. "Was this my fault?"
The blue cat swatted the fire mage's nose with his tail without opening his eyes.
"Dummy Natsu," he said. "A demon attacked us. That's all." Happy cracked an eye and looked at Lucy. "Hey, Lucy, I don't see any scary monsters here, do you?"
The spirit wizard smiled and shook her head.
"No," she said. "Not even a little one."
Happy felt some of Natsu's tension diminish; he kept looking around with a nervous twitch, though.
"Um," Natsu said. "Is Gramps in here?"
Happy's eyes snapped open. He inclined his head over Natsu's hair. Two curtains hid Makarov and Wendy from view. Porlyusica poked at Natsu's newest scar.
"Yes," she said, tearing off wraps for a bandage. "The old fool got his heart acting up again because he can't act his age. He'll keel over one of these days."
"And Wendy?"
The older pink-haired mage paused. She swung around and whipped back the curtain between them and Wendy. Bandages covered the left side of the younger dragon slayer, and her left arm still showed swelling under its wrap. Charla sat by the girl's head on her cot.
"Burns." Porlyusica said in a terse tone.
Happy looked at Lucy, searching for something to say. The blond mage seemed speechless.
"Is she okay?" Natsu asked.
Charla snapped at the fire dragon slayer before anyone else could answer.
"No! She's not okay! She might have permanent scars for the rest of her life and she's lucky to be alive, let alone have any of her face left thanks to"
Happy hissed.
The Exceed pounced from Natsu's head and landed on all fours between Charla and his adoptive parent. His blue fur stood on end. He dropped his angry expression when a quivering hand rubbed his ears.
"It's fine, Happy," Natsu said. The pink-haired mage's weak voice indicated otherwise. "You get good and rested, okay?"
"Natsu," Happy said.
Said fire mage took a deep breath and his eyes darted to Wendy.
"Sorry," he murmured, before bolting on shaky legs out of the infirmary.
Lucy called his name and followed. Happy tried to go after them, but Porlyusica stopped him.
"You still have a fever," she said, giving no other reason for keeping him there. The Exceed stared at the open door for a minute. He settled on his cot and closed his eyes, a silent whimper on the tip of his tongue.
"Natsu!" Lucy said.
The celestial spirit mage caught up to her partner just outside the guildhall. Nonetheless, he kept going, drawing in brief, harried breaths.
"NATSU!" Lucy yelled.
The dragon slayer froze at her raised voice; still on the verge of hyperventilating, he turned to look at her. Lucy made a conscious effort to curb her aggravated concern and lowered her voice.
"Talk to me?" She asked. The blond wizard remembered her parents using the same tone with her as a child on the rare occasion she gave them the silent treatment. Natsu's breathing seemed to even out. He tilted his head back toward the guild and shivered.
"I'm tired," he said, swaying on his feet. Lucy drew closer to him. "And I don't wanna be in there."
Natsu turned toward Lucy. She saw guilt and desperation in the eyes that always held strength. She gave him a shallow nod and took one of his hands with hers.
"All right," she said. "We can go to my place."
The fire mage shook his head.
"I'll just go home"
"Natsu."
Lucy kept her voice soft but made her words firm. She tightened her grip on the hand she held.
"You can barely stand up by yourself," she said. "I won't have you collapsing somewhere in the woods. My apartment is closer. You can rest there."
The blond wizard held her head high and kept her hold on Natsu while he regarded her with nervous eyes.
"Okay."
Lucy smiled a little at him and walked toward her apartment. Natsu was never far behind her, since their hands stayed linked, but the fire mage wouldn't walk next to her. Every time she glanced behind to look at him, her heart broke a little. Natsu would feel her eyes on him, and he'd smile at her; his mouth stayed closed and the expression seemed strained. Each one looked false, as if he only smiled to reassure her.
She just felt worse for that.
"I'll find something to cover the windows with," she said upon entering her apartment. "Just make sure you wash your feet and face, okay?"
The dragon slayer didn't say anything. He slumped toward her bathroom. Lucy watched him for a moment before she went to her kitchen to dig out an old table cloth for a makeshift curtain; the sun had begun to rise, and the light would make sleep difficult for both of them.
She heard the water stop running before she returned. The celestial spirit mage walked into the bedroom and found Natsu already curled into a fetal ball on top of her sheets. He lay facing the window, his scarf's tail draped over his side.
Lucy took her desk chair and stood on it to pin the aged fabric on her window frame and let it hang down.
"Luce."
She glanced down at Natsu; he rubbed the material of his scarf with one hand.
"Do I have anything on my chest?"
The fire mage's eyes stayed closed. Lucy tilted her head.
"No." She said, uncertain of the question's purpose or origin. Natsu murmured something and buried his nose with his scarf.
Lucy decided against pressing him further. She stepped down off her chair and took out the note Loke had given her. She set it on her desk. The celestial spirit mage pulled a fresh set of clothes from her dresser and began stripping off the dirty garments she wore.
When she had gotten down to her underwear, she looked over her shoulder to check on her partner; his unabashed, staring eyes greeted her. To the dragon slayer's credit, he seemed focused on her face rather than her partial nudity; that fact didn't prevent the flush that raced to her cheeks.
"Quit staring, pervert!"
Natsu frowned a little. He rolled over.
"Not a pervert," he muttered.
Lucy sighed and hurried through changing. Once she had finished, she noticed Natsu watching her again.
"Why are you staring at me?" She demanded.
The fire mage had the decency to look a little embarrassed at being caught twice. He pressed his face down into a pillow. Lucy placed her desk chair next to the bed. She brought up one hand to poke at him. Natsu snatched the hand up himself. She suppressed a squeak.
The fire mage just held her hand and stared at it.
"Natsu?"
In a whisper so quiet she almost couldn't hear him, he answered.
"I'm scared, Luce."
The celestial spirit mage let her partner run his callous thumb on her palm and waited.
"I dunno if this is real," he said, taking a deep, steadying breath with every pause. "I'm confused." He looked up at her. "And I'm scared to think about what I did."
"Natsu," Lucy began. "You didn't"
"I had a nightmare." He said, interrupting her. Again, Lucy chose to let him speak on his own.
"But after I woke up," he said, emphasizing the last two words. "I found you and it wasn't a dream."
Lucy's free hand touched her neck.
"I attacked everyone," he said, water seeping into his sentences. "I hurt Levy, I crippled Elfman," he said. He choked on a light sob. "And I think I killed Mira."
The dragon slayer pulled his scarf over his face, hiding it from Lucy. The spirit mage blinked back tears. She just listened to his breathing for a minute before she set herself to run with what came to mind.
"I know you're smarter than that," she said. The fire mage peeked out from behind his scarf. "If they really were that badly injured, they'd have been in the infirmary, right?"
Lucy brushed back his pink hair with her other hand. She flicked his ear at his hesitation.
"Right?"
He nodded. She smiled a bit; his eyelids fell halfway and she felt his nerves settle.
"Natsu," she whispered, stroking his head behind his ears. "Even if you were some sort of monster, it wouldn't matter." She wrapped her fingers around the hand he had holding hers. "You're a fighter, a fire wizard and a dragon slayer; but you're a Fairy Tail mage before any of that."
Natsu sank further into the celestial spirit mage's mattress and he murmured. Lucy smiled in tired sympathy.
"Get some sleep," she said. "I'll be right here."
Zeref regarded the morning air; he'd worked through the night.
He'd done away with the necessity of sleep along with other things over the four centuries of his life.
"Another of my spies has been discovered," he mused, absently silencing the last of the groans from his more tenacious soldiers. "Perhaps I should move up my time table."
The immortal dark wizard looked over the runes he'd written again. He smirked at the thought that he was spellchecking his own work.
Finding no mistakes, he turned back to consider the mountain of dead around him. He chilled the air with his magic and set about harvesting necessary organs for his next project.
A/N: Would any of you believe that I actually took the time to calculate the ratio between time in the spirit realm and time in the real world and never once considered just using DBZ's Hyperbolic Time Chamber as a reference point? Silly me! I have my own thoughts, but I'll let the readers come up with their own reasons for why Loke's proposed means of travel violates celestial law.
It's bad form for me to explain it here, but just in case someone is confused, one of Laki's character traits is a (sort of) closet sadism bend. (Whoops. I just explained the joke.)
Hopefully the extra couple days haven't left any of you lovely readers hanging too long! This one took a bit more out of me. Here's hoping the tension still rides fairly high while I work on our dear Fairy Tail characters!
If you felt something while reading this, leave a review! If not, please tell me why because it means I'm not doing this properly! Alternatively, if some haven't noticed, I've tried to maintain a theme of burning/fire with regard to chapter titles, so if you have ideas, feel free! No guarantee I'll use them, but who knows?
To They Who Review:
xMissFortune: I appreciate the credit you attribute to me! I'm also extremely glad the feels made it through to you! Have another dose! I'm dedicated to keeping some suspense, so you'll just have to- waitaminit, sewing bodies? (Checks last chapter) Oh. Em. Faulty wording on my part. Fixed. That's embarrassing. But regardless, I promise I'll work to keep Zeref's projects interesting and hopefully the final product will pay off! Thank you for reading and reviewing!
The Age of Awesomeness: Thank you for reading and reviewing again! Here's that new chapter you waited so patiently for! Hope you enjoy it! I'll keep churning out more content!